Does Social Media Distract You?

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Practice after school, mounds of homework that will take you hours, and chores to do after that. The work keeps piling on but wait, what was that sound? Oh, it was the sound of a notification. But it’s just one comment, three likes, maybe a message from your friend. It won’t take too long, you promise yourself. Four hours later, you’re knee-deep into photos from 54 weeks ago and random videos about dog’s eye color. Suddenly, you regret even having your notifications on and go into a slight panic. Maybe you should put your phone in a different room next time.

About 73% of United States teenagers have access to a smartphone or device. That means 73% of America’s teenage population, can get distracted by social media every day.

“There is always something going on, that when I’m trying to get work done, it distracts me,” said 8th grade student, Avery Bilyeu.

“So that I don’t get in trouble, I get my work done first so the weight is off my shoulders,” stated 8th grader, Kylie Newman. Some teachers don’t have a huge problem with social media and students, but most don’t have much patience for it.

“I think a lot of students live in an online world that distracts them from real life,” said ELA teacher, Ashleigh Jones. “I will let my own kids have social media in the future, only because I think they’ll have access to it without my permission anyway.”

But does social media benefit students in any way?

“I think social media can make students more aware of events going on in the world, so I do think it benefits them a little bit,” said choir teacher, Alicia Campbell.

What about living without it on a day-to-day basis?

“I don’t think I could live without social media. That’s how I interact with my friends when I’m not with them. It helps me know what is going on in the world,” said Kylie.

“I usually put my phone up 30 minutes after I lay down so I’m not up all night,” stated Avery. “I go to bed around 9:00, which helps me get enough sleep.”

Sleep is one of the biggest fundamental factors needed for a healthy life, but, for many students, it’s completely thrown out the window when something interesting pops up on their home screen.

So the next time you hear the sound of a notification or see the tab drop down saying you have a “like,” think about if you need to drop everything and look at it right that minute. Can it wait, so you can finish the task at hand?